Sightings
by onyx-angel
Summary: Sakura's past and present collide in more ways than one. She has a new temporary team that seems far more effficient than her old one, if a bit annoying. And what's a girl to do about old men and new men when she's chasing Akatsuki? kakasaku nejisaku
1. First Sighting

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from said story.

Tentatively titled Sightings Chapter 1- First Sighting

By Onyx angel

* * *

Sakura's eyes narrowed as they surveyed the thin piece of parchment in front of her. "Naruto you insufferable baka!" She exclaimed, frustrated that the blonde jounin wouldn't be back in Konoha for another two weeks at least. 

Although it wasn't specified in his letter she entirely suspected Naruto's sensei, Jiraiya, was the cause of Naruto's elongated training journey. Probably conducting further "research" for his perverted books.

"Damn perverts, oh well at least Kakashi-sensei will be pleased," She mumbled sullenly to herself as she imagined the look of glee on her sensei's face at the mention of a new Icha Icha book.

She could only imagine his face of course, as she had never actually _seen_ it. Not that she didn't try on a regular basis to expose his face to her; going so far as to attempt to seduce the damn thing off. Needless to say her efforts had been in vain, since when he kissed her he made sure her eyes were closed.

Apparently her advances had gotten him pretty riled up and as much as he'd attempted to ignore his former student, Sakura had grown persistent.

When she finally did open her eyes (in his bedroom, on his bed) it was to dark to see anything. Not that she had really cared at that point but for propriety's sake she had to pretend.

Undeniably, the feel of him as he rubbed against formerly untouched places was enough to dispel any thoughts of seeing anything but the white hot bursts of pleasure swimming in her vision.

When he actually pushed in she couldn't think at all, and didn't, until the morning after when she realized she had lost her virginity to her teacher. Definitely taboo.

Or it would have been if anyone but the two participants involved were aware of anything intimate between student and teacher. But no one ever found out (except for Genma when he unexpectedly turned up outside Kakashi's window one night. Luckily, He kept tightlipped too, if only so that he could lord it over Kakashi's head whenever he got the chance).

That was how Sakura and Kakashi came to be illicit and entirely inappropriate sexpartners. Whether love was or was not involved remained inconsequential, although Sakura was sure she had heard Kakashi mutter that he loved her just last night, regardless of how much he denied it in the morning.

The 18 year old sighed, remembering.

A sharp knock on her apartment door shocked her out of her reveries, and she rushed to cover her self in something decent. Slipping a large orange t-shirt, previously the belonging of Naruto's, over her head she hurried to answer the door.

She wondered briefly who it could be, since Naruto was away, Kakashi was undoubtedly still displeased with her, and Ino had an early shift at the flower shop.

She flung open the door with a flourish only to be cascaded with a quantity of rose petals a shade darker than her hair. '_Ah it's Rock Lee than_,' she thought with a smile as she observed the clear outline of the self-proclaimed "green beast of Konoha."

"Hi Lee-kun," she said, noting the way his eyes lit up at the added suffix.

"Sakura-san, my flower! I come bearing gifts, although none as stunning as your youthful presence!" He exclaimed and she giggled at his usual behavior.

"Lee you know you didn't have to!" She said, grinning.

By know she had grown quite used to his odd mannerisms and her treatment of him had grown quite affectionate, though she still only thought of him as a close friend.

"That is what Neji said too, but I think a beautiful girl deserves beautiful things," he said handing her the flowers he had brought.

"Is Neji-san here too then?" She questioned, her emerald eyes just peeking over the bouquet, as she smelled it.

"Yes, we have come to ask you to join us on a mission, where we will surely encounter great danger that will threaten our carefree springtime spirit!" He announced with fervor.

"It's a mission to investigate Akatsuki sightings near Earth CountryIwagakure the Hidden Village of Rock to be more precise, and we need a medic nin. That's where you come in.

"Oh hi Neji-san!" Sakura looked up and greeted the man whom she had failed to notice before.

He had grown taller like all of the former genin and, like them, had risen in rank. He was now a well-established member of ANBU, one who she would, tentatively, call a friend. Rock Lee had also become a member of ANBU, eager to outdo his self-proclaimed rival.

Sakura had been happy enough staying at jounin level after passing her exams, and often ended up going on ANBU ranked missions anyway because of her medical accomplishments.

"So what do you think Sakura-san?"

"Huh, oh the mission, yah it sounds fine but I'd like to go over technicalities before we leave….." She broke off, blushing, as only now did she notice Neji looking her up and down with what, if it were anyone else, she would have called a leer.

'_Oh my god I completely forgot about how I'm dressed! I'm only wearing Naruto's shirt! Lee-kun and Neji-san probably think I'm some kind of weirdo!' _All this was said in her mind as she had a mild heart attack due to the realization of her state of undress.

"Hehe, well, um it was nice seeing you, let's meet later at Ichiraku's, okay? Bye!"

She yelled, as she practically slammed the door in their face.

'_Oh my God, oh my God! Phew, well at least they're gone now! Honestly you'd think after living with a boy for 2 years and having illicit sex with my teacher I'd have gotten used to embarrassing situations!'_

Never mind that her teacher was Kakashi, who at first glance seemed like nothing but an old pervert, or that the boy was Naruto, her best friend.

She'd moved in with Naruto not long after her 16th birthday and had been borrowing his clothes for just as long. It was convenient since they were both ninja and understood the other's lifestyle. Although, Sakura soon found that living with Naruto wasn't as easy as she had first expected since he kept the house constantly messy, and very rarely ate anything but ramen.

It had changed their relationship very little and they remained simply best friends. _'Although there was that time when we kissed, on his birthday,' _Sakura reflected absently as she picked herself off of the floor by her door where she had "hidden" after slamming the door on Neji and Rock Lee.

She hardly supposed the kiss she and Naruto had shared on his 18th birthday counted, though, because they were both thoroughly drunk.

She mentally shrugged and walked to the bathroom to see if she could make herself somewhat presentable for lunch at Ichiraku Ramen.

Sakura casually shrugged off the orange shirt and stepped into the shower; pleased to note that the mold she had painstakingly cleaned just last week had not grown back. She turned the water to hot and gasped at the quick temperature change.

She noticed purplish marks on her neck when she was washing her hair; the remnants of her night with Kakashi. Absently she hoped Rock Lee and Neji hadn't noticed.

Finished with her shower, she reached for her towel and wrapped it tightly around herself.

In front of her mirror, she let the towel fall and observed her unclothed body. She had grown her hair long, past her waist, though not as long as Ino's.

Her face had visibly matured and her eyes, now a light emerald, had taken on the flirty glint of her teacher, Tsunade's. Her body had experienced the most noticeable change, however, becoming hardened with muscle from her ninja training and significantly curvy where it was appropriate.

'_My chest is probably bigger than even Ino's now,'_ she observed as she fumbled around in her closet in search of her usual ninja attire.

Grinning at the idea of beating Ino at something, she preceded to wrap the containing bandages, which were a fixture for all kunoichi's, around her breasts. Those were followed by a simple mesh shirt and other undergarments. Next she pulled on short spandex shorts, fingerless gloves and tied some bandage around her calf and forearm. She finished the outfit by putting on and tying her long red shirt, which, when she was standing still, conveniently gave off the appearance of a short skirt.

The shirt was unlike anything she had worn as a chuunin or genin. It was much shorter than a kimono, though it slightly resembled one, reaching about mid-thigh, and tied at the waist. It was also much simpler than any kimono she had ever seen with its plain elbow-length sleeves and simple design; the only decoration on it was a white circle on her back and the Konoha symbol on the left side of the "skirt."

Finally she pulled on her hitaiate and attached her leg protectors. Deeming herself ready, she pulled on her black boots.

She glanced once at the clock on her dresser and hurried through the house, hoping to beat Rock Lee and Neji to Ichiraku's.

Speeding past the front door she effortlessly jumped out of the open window, landing with a flip on the sidewalk below her and Naruto's apartment.

Smiling at her feat, and waving to the shocked neighbor, who she was sure would press charges one of these days, she quickly attached a kunai satchel to her thigh and hurried to Icharaku Ramen.

She approached slowly, attempting to appear casual as she sighted Neji and Rock Lee sitting at a table outside the recently renovated Ichiraku Ramen.

'_Okay, so if I act relaxed maybe they won't remember that I greeted them half naked this morning.' _Sakura thought, doubting her sanity as the thought crossed her mind.

Moving to sit down beside Rock Lee, she greeted the two boys with an embarrassed grin and a lopsided salute; "hi, how's it goin?"

Neji blinked twice at her hasty arrival but murmured a short reply, before obscuring his face behind his elbows, as he ate some of the ramen he had previously ordered. Not, however, before she noticed the miniscule and uncharacteristic blush tinting his cheeks.

"Uhh, heh, sorry for, you know, this morning, I guess you just got me at a bad time." She apologized, meekly bobbing her head quickly, before staring severely at the two boys.

"But you should know that Naruto and I have _nothing_, going on. I was only wearing his shirt because it was comfortable," She said emphasizing her words with a crack of her knuckles and effectively getting her point across: She and Naruto were _not _romantically involved.

She'd been asked countless times if the two were dating and she now felt a sick kind of pleasure in forcefully denying the rumors; using chakra-laden fists if absolutely necessary.

Her unspoken threat failed to warrant a reaction from the stoic Hyuuga, who continued to slowly consume his meal. Rock Lee's face, however, brightened immediately and she watched as his eyes started to sparkle.

"Sakura-san, I am so sorry to have assumed untruths concerning your reputation. Of course, I would have been overjoyed for you and Naruto, but all the same..." He trailed off and looked at her with a silly grin, and she found her self smiling back, because, like Naruto, Lee and his smiles became infectious over time.

"Thanks Lee-kun."

"Of course, Sakura-san. You can always count on me!" He winked and gave her a thumb's up, his seated version of the "good guy pose."

She heard Neji clear his throat and looked at him over Rock Lee's shoulder.

"We should probably talk about mission logistics, Tsunade expects us gone by 10:00 tonight."

"Oh, right, so do you know the reason for Akatsuki sightings in earth country, and why, if it is an Earth Country problem, are they involving Konoha ninja?" Sakura inquired, switching expertly into trained shinobi mode.

"The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure is unequipped to deal with enemies such as the Akatsuki. They are also aware that we have had various dealings with the Akatsuki before and that we have a vendetta against them," Neji explained in clipped, concise sentences.

"They would have asked Suna, it being closer, but the Rock and the Sand have been feuding, as you know, ever since a high-ranking government official of Rock cheated a Suna shinobi. There has been no open blood shed as of yet, but the Rock is weaker than the Sand and fears retribution."

Sakura nodded at Neji's logic having adequate knowledge of complicated political views due to her training with Tsunade. It made sense that an Earth Country Village would request aid from Konoha but she still couldn't understand the Akatsuki's reasoning for being near Iwa.

A thought hit her suddenly, and she had to resist clenching her hands into fists.

"You don't think…. It couldn't have been a Jinchūriki they were after could it?" She asked keeping her voice intentionally calm.

All of the former genin had eventually learned about the kyuubi inhabiting Naruto and, previously, Gaara. Counting Shukaku, and two other unknown Jinchūriki, the Akatsuki had obtained three.

Neji narrowed his eyes at her, and Sakura could see he was impressed by how fast she had caught on, but let Lee answer her tentative question.

"You are very smart Sakura-san. That is what we concluded as well. Our job is to locate any Akatsuki that may still be in the area and, if the situation arises, engage them in combat."

"We are to attempt to contain a Jinchūriki if we locate one, but the likelihood of that happening is unlikely. It is an A-class mission and the time frame is between one week and a month, depending on our progress."

"Oh man, that means I won't be here when Naruto comes back!" She moaned before catching Neji looking at her with plain disinterest, and only slight suspicion.

"Not like that! I just haven't seen him in a long time," She mumbled twiddling her fingers and pouting.

Neji shrugged regally.

"Neji-san why isn't Tenten going on this mission?"

"She is currently on a mission with Gai-sensei and won't return for another week." Neji replied easily.

He finished his ramen, wiping his mouth with a napkin, before standing, and bidding Sakura and Lee goodbye.

"I'm going to finalize the details with Hokage-sama. We'll meet at the Konoha gates at 9:30. Don't be late."

"Sure, see you then Neji-san." Sakura waved and he nodded back at her and Rock Lee before disappearing in the crowd.

"Huh, so who's mission leader?" She inquired to Rock Lee who was finishing his own bowl of, now cold, miso ramen with vigor.

"Neji is mission leader but worry not Sakura-san! I will not let that hold me back from allowing my true potential to shine through!"

Sakura smiled amusedly, ignoring the stares from other patrons, no doubt wondering at the strange behavior of the oddly dressed shinobi.

She glared at one girl who made a particularly rude remark about Lee's green jumpsuit and quickly stood up, pulling Rock Lee up too, by the elbow.

Shooting the impolite girl another fierce look, she hooked her arm with Lee's, kissed him swiftly on the cheek, and walked away. A considerable feat considering she was also carrying the weight of Lee, who had, seemingly, lost the ability to stand when she had kissed him.

"Lee, hey! C'mon you're not that easy to carry, you know!" She complained, loosening her hold on his arm. Her voice held a light hint of teasing, and she was smiling, obviously pleased with her performance.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san!"

"That's all right Lee-kun, but I've got some work to finish at the hospital, so I'll see you tonight, okay?" She said, thinking of Kakahsi.

"Sure. See you later Sakura-san," He waved and she responded in kind.

Happy with the result of her meeting with Neji and Rock Lee, she smiled before being rudely reminded by her stomach that she hadn't eaten anything at the Ramen shop.

'_Darn! Stupid me, I was right there too!'_ She chastised inwardly, before heading to the home of the notorious copy-ninja.

She wasn't sure what he would say about the mission, or if he would care at all. He had seemed pretty annoyed at her this morning. Although, for him pretty annoyed meant not doing the zipper of his jounin vest up all the way. On that note, if he did care, she probably wouldn't be able to tell.

Well, regardless he had to care about her wellbeing as his former student. He had to.

She hesitated when she arrived at his house, unsure if she should knock or just talk to him when she returned from her mission.

Her question was answered for her when the door opened on its own, revealing the masked face of one Hatake Kakashi.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" Kakashi questioned with a quirk of his visible eyebrow.

He didn't look mad, or at least, she didn't think so.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei, um I just came to talk I guess." She replied, scoffing her feet against the ground and avoiding eye contact.

She could only look more suspicious if she whistled; which, she supposed, wasn't very unlikely if he didn't make some kind of reply soon.

After a lengthy pause he answered her unspoken query, "Sure, I can always talk,"

He eyed her subtly for a moment before producing an Icha Icha Paradise book from his pocket.

Her stomach chose that moment to make an indelicate rumble and she flushed lightly. Kakashi gave no sign that he noticed, but she suspected that if he were not wearing a mask she would see an amused expression on his face.

He probably loved seeing her squirm. He always had enjoyed picking on his students, though the recipient of such jokes was usually Naruto. Apparently, when you started sleeping with Kakashi you also deserved the honor.

She hated to think what that would have meant for Kakashi and Naruto's relationship.

'_Naruto you dog! Taking poor, innocent Kakashi-sensei's virginity.' _She burst out laughing at the ridiculous thought and didn't stop, even when Kakashi eyed her solemnly over his book.

"Sakura there is no need to try and impress me. I know you have an excellent sense of humor."

"No, sorry, I was just uh getting lost on the road of life," She grinned, throwing one of his favorite lines back at him.

His only reply was to ruffle her hair and hold the door open for her as an unspoken invitation.

Equally silent after her laughing fit, she stepped around Kakashi and into his clean apartment.

She had always liked it for the reason that, most of the time, it was clean. She had no idea how such a lazy man could keep his home so spotless, but she half suspected that it was because he was always away on missions.

Or it could be that whenever he was late, which he was, constantly, the actual reason for his delay was that he had been cleaning.

Although that idea was by far the most amusing she assumed it was the former.

"So…." She fidgeted nervously.

"So…." Kakashi prompted, putting away his book.

'_Ugh this is annoying; I'm acting like a genin!' _With that thought Sakura opened her mouth with firm resolve to tell Kakashi that she was leaving on a mission, and would not be back for a while.

"Kakashi! I…..uh, wait why do you smell like Pakkun?" Curiously, she sniffed the air around him, recognizing the ninken's smell.

He waved his hand at her in an attempt to stop her from smelling him, but she was quite persistent.

"Sakura stop that, I don't smell like Pakkun." He scratched his head guiltily and smiled like he had in their genin days.

"I didn't mean to use your shampoo but it was closest to me in the shower so..." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey! I don't smell like a dog!"

"Now Sakura ninken are more than just dogs they are a ninja's partner and should be treated with respect and…." His rant fell short as he saw the look in her eye.

"Kakashi. Maybe you should call Pakkun, you might need him," She said calmly, deadly serious.

It was twenty minutes later, after a tiring, impromptu training session, when she finally got to the reason she had visited the copy-ninja.

"You win, you win," Sakura panted as Kakashi pinned her to the floor, his arms and legs securing her struggling limbs.

Sitting up Kakashi groaned audibly, although the kunoichi noticed he hadn't even broken a sweat, despite her best efforts. She never had been good with taijutsu.

Not to say she hadn't made advances. Thanks to significant training with Lee and Kakashi she had become above average in most areas of taijutsu and her stamina had risen substantially.

Kakashi groaned again, though not from fatigue. "You know, I remember when you used to admire me."

Sakura huffed, mildly disappointed at being beaten. "What, you mean the twenty minutes in between the first time I heard your name and the minute you fell for Naruto's stupid trick?"

Kakashi nodded solemnly in reply, "Yes those were good times, before I knew what mediocre ninjas I'd have for a team."

"Hey, this mediocre ninja takes offence to that comment!" She slapped him playfully, without noticing his arms snaking around her waist.

"Aah, Kakashi-sensei!" She screeched when he pulled her down on top of him.

Kakashi put two fingers to her eyes, closing them, before slipping down his mask. Next she felt the gentle pressure of his lips as they pressed softly onto hers.

She moaned quietly as his hands rubbed her back. When he started nibbling her lips she suddenly remembered the mission she was supposed to be preparing for.

Breaking away from his embrace, she opened her eyes only to be met with his masked face.

"What, how did you do that so fast?" Sakura questioned, curious, as she always was when it came to his mask.

He shrugged and observed her, obviously, wondering why she had chosen to pull away.

"Oh, I just remembered why I came over here; I wanted to tell you I'm leaving on a mission to Earth Country today."

"I see. What level mission is it?

"It's just an A-class and I'm going to be with Neji-san and Rock Lee-kun so I'll be fine. Speaking of which, I really have to get home and pack!"

He nodded and stood up reaching a hand down to help her up.

She pecked him on the lips over his mask before leaving.

"Good luck with the mission."

"Thanks, See you later Kakashi-sensei!"

She waved and her last glimpse of Kakashi was him taking out Icha Icha Paradise from his pocket and flipping to a marked page.

Sakura was disappointed that she couldn't spend more time with him before leaving, but, at the same time, was glad that she hadn't left when things were awkward between them. Although, she would still like to discuss the whole love situation.

'_And I should really stop calling him Kakashi-sensei; it sounds creepy, like he's molesting me or something.' _It was not the first time she'd had such a thought, but adding the sensei to the end of his name had become a force of habit, one which she was having trouble breaking.

She did leave off the suffix when she was being very serious and in intimate situations, but she knew Kakashi would prefer for her to not say it altogether.

Before the oblivious kunoichi knew it her thoughts had led her home.

Sakura stretched before opening the door and stepping into her messy domain.

She promptly remembered her hunger and in the same breath, realized that she had forgotten to eat _again._ She walked to the kitchen and was thoroughly disappointed to find little else but ramen and some spoiled milk.

It seemed that even when Naruto was absent in presence his influence on the apartment remained.

She sighed, _'how tedious!' _

She was irked by how much she sounded like Shikamaru and preceded to boil some plain chicken ramen. She hummed as she "cooked," and was almost pleased when she could finally enjoy the result of her efforts. Not that it was very good, but at least she was fed.

Sakura looked at the clock by the kitchen table and was amazed to see that, already, four hours had passed since she had met up with Rock Lee and Neji earlier in the day.

Wanting to tie up lose ends before leaving, Sakura worked for a while at the hospital, passing the time until 10:00.

Half an hour before the designated time she returned home and packed a back-pack with necessities for the mission. She included some medical supplies and scrolls, some instant ramen, an extra kunai pouch and clothes.

Sakura quickly shouldered the back-pack and grabbed her personal specialized weapons from their spot in her room. They were wrapped carefully in bandage and she put them into a special carrying bag, before clipping them onto a clasp at her waist.

She wrote a hurried note to Naruto, just in case he got back before her, and jumped out of her wide window. Sakura was eager to begin a mission and happy that it was going to be in Earth Country, far away from any place where she would have a chance of seeing Sasuke.

* * *

Chapter 1- End 

Reviews are accepted and encouraged and I will try to answer any questions about the story. Thanks for reading!

-Onyx


	2. Blowing In An Imaginary Wind

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from said story.

Sightings Chapter 2- Blowing In an Imaginary Wind

By Onyx angel

Exactly two years, nine months, two weeks, and one day had passed since the last time Sakura had seen Sasuke, on her 16th birthday. A memorable occasion to be sure, but the memories of which, she would prefer to store in the very back of her mind.

She worked so hard to bury the memory in fact that it became a piece of stored information. Not her own recollection of events, but knowledge of what had occurred. When it became like that she found that it wasn't so hard to just bury the memory away with all the other useless knowledge she had acquired over the years.

And she did think it was useless because it would never bring Sasuke back, and she wasn't sure she wanted him back in the first place.

Not after what he did.

"Neji-san, Lee-kun!" She waved flamboyantly at the pair, panting as she caught her breath; it had taken longer then she'd thought to jog to the Konoha gates, and she left later then she had planned.

"Sakura, glad you could join us," Neji frowned at her, more annoyed than angry by her unusually late arrival.

"Hai! Gomen nasai! But I'm only 5 minutes late." She bobbed her head in a quick apology.

"Sakura-san I express extreme sadness for your apology! As my return to your apology I will run even faster than Neji-san!

"Uh, thanks Lee-kun but that's not really….WHAT THE HELL?"

Sakura gasped and screeched loudly as she was suddenly flattened by a massive weight on her head. She promptly fell to the ground and continued to be crushed by whatever the source of the weight was.

She was at a loss as to its source until she heard a familiar and entirely unwanted voice.

"Lee, Neji! I have come in order to protect and nurture your growing spirit on this perilous journey! Let us rejoice!

"Oh, Gai-sensei!"

'_Oh hell.' _

Sakura did not enjoy being squished but the joyous reunion between Gai and Lee was making the situation particularly unbearable.

As soon as she heard the voice Sakura had realized that the enormous weight currently suffocating her was Ninkame, the ninja tortoise, with Gai on his back.

Apparently no one had noticed Sakura disappearing beneath the backend of a tortoise, but she had an idea of how to effectively alert them to her presence.

Grinning as much as she was able, she slowly gathered chakra to her fist. She quickly pounded the ground with her elbow, creating a shallow hole, and giving that arm some area to move around. Pulling back, she thrust her arm forcefully upward until it connected with something solid.

Even she was surprised at how far the tortoise, along with Gai, flew.

"Uhh, hello Sakura-san." Lee spoke tentatively and backed away a step or two from the fiery girl.

Oh, how she loved reaping the benefits when people observed her monstrous strength. It was one thing to hear about a petite girl creating earthquakes and quite another to witness it in person.

Sakura was a bit surprised when Neji smirked and chuckled a little. It took her a moment to realize that he probably thought Lee and Gai's reunions were as stupid as she felt they were. He also had to put up with them more, so seeing one such reunion forcefully put to a stop was probably something of a reprieve.

"You never told me Gai-sensei was coming!" The kunoichi grumbled without much real anger.

She was mostly just pouting because she had been impolitely sat on.

"Sorry Sakura-san, I too was unaware that Gai-sensei would be joining us on our journey.

"Eh, whatever. Is Neji-san still mission leader?"

"Yes! Neji has shown amazing growth and as such has taken over as leader for this particular mission. It is obvious his youth has blossomed with the spring!" Gai burst into tears, simultaneous with his declaration, while Neji rolled his eyes.

Sakura rolled her eyes too, highly amused.

Neji hastily took control in an attempt to dispel the ridiculous atmosphere that was inevitable around Lee and Gai.

"I spoke to Tsunade-sama. We are to travel without stopping until we reach the first village on the Earth Country border. Speed is imminent because, for all we know, the Akatsuki could already be gone."

When Neji finished his speech Gai looked at each of them in turn. "Okay! Everyone ready?"

"Move Out!"

By the time the team had reached the border, Sakura was tremendously tired. Gai's team had always been designed for speed, and she simply lacked the stamina to keep up with them.

She pressed her lips tighter together in a firm resolve to keep going, without complaint. She found, however, that no matter how strong her resolve she couldn't push herself past her body's limit.

This theory was further proven when she slipped on a rough branch.

Her firm tenacity was good for something at least and when she fell she forced herself not to make a sound. She grasped for something to clutch onto as she fell. Her efforts were in vain however, as she seemed to have fallen in the only branchless area of the forest.

'_Dammit, this forest must really hate me!'_ She kind of hated herself too at that moment because she was showing weakness, something she had vowed not to do: She _would_ be a strong kunoichi!

Frustrated the falling girl pivoted her body in mid air. She was annoyed beyond common sense now and tired so she didn't think when she gathered large amounts of controlled chakra to her leg.

"Tsutenkyaku!" She hit the ground hard on impact and simultaneously released the chakra in her leg. 

A huge groan was heard around the area of the forest and almost immediately trees began to fall and cracks split in the earth throughout.

Sakura panted as the dust cleared, noticing vaguely that she was standing in the middle of a large crater.

"Heh, oops guess I overreacted a bit," She grinned innocently and scratched the back of her head in a Naruto-like gesture.

She wasn't sure what exactly had made her so mad _'But,'_ She thought absently, _'At least now we can travel without the annoying forest getting in our way, and I do feel better.'_

She glanced around in search of her comrades and found them an average distance away from the crater she had created.

They all had slightly awe-stricken expressions on their faces and in another situation she might have laughed, but now she was feeling rather guilty for her rash actions. She hoped she hadn't endangered the mission in any way, though from her calculations she hadn't, and travel _would_ be easier now.

Tsunade might be mad at her when she returned to Konoha though. Shinobi were generally not encouraged to destroy national vegetation unless absolutely necessary and she had just demolished over half of an entire forest.

Also Tsunade had been the one to teach Sakura that technique which would not reflect well on the Hokage.

"Darn, oh well can't be helped now I guess," She mumbled as she dusted off her shirt and proceeded to exit the crater.

She looked down guiltily when she arrived where her teammates were standing.

Rock Lee was the first to speak but he didn't sound accusing, in fact his tone held a hint of the pride he felt for her.

"Wow Sakura-san that was amazing! I commend your remarkable skill!"

"Uh, thanks lee-kun and I'm sorry, I just overreacted because I was tired. It was entirely inappropriate of me. Gomen." She bowed her head.

Neji observed her silently than sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped, though that was completely unprofessional. You have an obligation to inform your team if you are tired, especially if exhaustion will hinder your performance as a ninja."

Sakura nodded at his scolding and mentally berated herself as well.

"We may as well camp here. The nearest Earth Country village is still miles away. Also it is a relatively safe area and normally secluded so there is little chance of seeing other ninja. Besides we must sleep to regain our strength. We cannot burst from youthfulness if we need sleep. So sleep, my students, sleep!"

Gai promptly grabbed Lee by the shoulders.

"Yes Gai-sensei, we shall!"

"That's the spirit Lee!"

Student and teacher then began to sway in an imaginary wind while Sakura looked away.

She was already weirded out that he had included her when he had referred to them as his students. She liked Gai-sensei but if there were a line to cross he had flown over it with flamboyance. She also wanted to avoid hitting them and if she kept looking at them, she was sure she would be unable to resist. Besides she had used enough chakra today.

"Don't worry they'll calm down soon enough," Neji said as he looked at his comrades.

"I hope so," Sakura replied, doubtfully.

The imaginary wind seemed to have picked up and the swaying was only becoming more animated.

Eventually though, to Sakura's surprise, they did calm down somewhat and they were able to find a relatively comfortable area to camp for the night.

Sakura began to unpack the gear she would need for the night, producing ramen and a sleeping bag.

She yawned and gave an experimental sniff of her shirt. Apparently the day of traveling had made her smell horrible as well as tiring her out.

Sakura mildly detested bathing in lakes and fresh water rivers when she was on mission but often she had no other choice, and she refused to smell like a pig. She was a kunoichi but she was still a woman.

"Lee, I'm going to get clean, okay? Can you tell Neji-san and Gai-sensei when they return?"

Gai and Neji had gone to gather firewood not long ago. Not that the task would be hard since there were plenty of broken trees where she had preformed the painful sky leg.

They had chosen to camp in the part of the forest Sakura had not demolished and, since the forest was vast to begin with, they still had ample foliage surrounding them.

"Of course, Sakura-san. I will be at your side in an instant if you encounter danger!"

"Thanks, but I'm sure I'll be fine." She waved and jogged off to the lake she could sense was nearby.

She was not the best of ninja at dissecting clues but often as a medic nin she had to sort out what the injured person's problem was without outside help, as a patient was often unconscious. Also a medic nin needed a keen eye for detail, to see and dissect every visible nerve.

She had more than the knowledge necessary to notice the little details that meant a lake was nearby.

At the small lake she quickly stripped off her clothes and dove in, gasping at the remarkably cold temperature.

She soon relaxed and splashed about a bit as she played in the water.

'_Nice, relaxing and quiet.' _She sighed in contentment and rubbed casually at the dirt on her skin. She had forgotten to bring soap so for cleaning her bare hands would have to do.

'I wonder what Kakashi-sensei is doing right now.'

Sakura rarely thought about Kakashi on missions. She saved thoughts of him for quiet moments like this when she could really miss him like he deserved.

She knew that she didn't love him. But it _was_ possible that she was falling in love with him.

She groaned loudly in annoyance. She wholeheartedly agreed with Kakashi on the concept that when she was a kid, things were a hell of a lot easier. Maybe not as fun though.

She thought back on her most recent night with Kakashi, as she dressed.

'_Nope, definitely not as fun!'_

She was significantly relaxed when she arrived back at their camp. The day had become dim and a cool night was setting in.

Rock Lee was building a fire and Neji and Gai were sitting by, eating ramen out of a cup.

It looked to her like Neji was trying to ignore Gai as he made a comment, but failed miserably as his face contorted slightly into a light grimace.

She laughed lightly and sat down next to Lee, grabbing the proffered cup of ramen. She couldn't help but smile as she observed the three ninja.

Maybe this was what it was like to be in a real team, one where there was no betrayal and the rivalries were healthy rather than dangerous.

Gai was giving a lecture about _something _and Lee was drinking it in like life's essence. Neji was half-listening but his mind was more on the fire and he seemed happy enough despite the slight grimace that marked his face whenever Gai made a particularly unusual reference to youth.

Sakura herself was happy enough to just sit silently, observing and eating her meal. She decided that she would enjoy the time she had with her temporary team and not dwell on the mistakes of her previous one. Just for a little while.

Sakura was tired when she finally retired into her sleeping bag. Despite the hard ground she was looking forward to getting some rest. The painful sky leg technique she had used earlier was, apparently, good for letting out ones frustrations but it also used up a tiring quantity of chakra.

She was just falling into dreamland when she heard a most terrible sound.

It was coming from two directions, to her immediate right and in the same direction a little farther away.

She crawled out of her sleeping bag, sad because of the loss of warmth but firmly set on the idea that she would not get any sleep if the loud sounds she could hear were not silenced.

She noticed Neji eyeing her as he sat by the fire, their watch for the night. She shrugged off his stare and sidled up to the noisy lump on her right.

'_It's just Lee and Gai-sensei? How is it humanly possible to make that much noise when you're sleeping? More importantly how is it that, as ninja, they haven't been located and killed by their snores alone!'_ She heard Neji snort when her mouth dropped in awe.

Intensely wanting to wake the loud sleepers, but reluctant to do so because rested shinobi generally preformed better than ones who'd been awoken during the night, Sakura retreated to her sleeping bag in defeat.

She put her pillow over her head in a fruitless attempt to drown out the sounds and once again attempted to fall asleep.

She was just about to succeed in that endeavor too when a particularly loud snore jolted her back into consciousness.

Annoyed, she groggily sat up in her sleeping bag. "Neji-san why are they so _loud!"_

He turned to her as he replied and his voice was thick with sarcasm, poking the fire with a stick to keep it alive. "Can't sleep?"

"No. I don't know how you manage, what do you do?"

He shrugged nonchalantly but bristled as she continued to stare at him. "What? Stop staring at me like that!"

"Huh, oh sorry it's just I really am surprised that anyone could sleep through that racket! You're amazing!"

He had the decency to blush, if only a little, and she would have to, had she not been groggy and half-asleep.

"Did your teammates snore?"

Sakura was caught off guard by the question because she and Neji had never really talked. About important things, like missions, yes, but never about conversational, inconsequential details that you discussed just because you could.

She rather liked discussing unimportant things but he had broached a sore topic.

She sighed and got out of her sleeping bag, crawling on hands and knees to sit beside him by the fire.

"I don't know. Well I _do,_ but I don't like to remember. It's just hard you know?"

He was silent for a moment contemplating her answer. "I think that to regret the past is pointless and to cower from memories that have no power over you is fruitless. In life everything happens for a reason. If you face your fears and talk about them it usually helps."

She looked up at him surprised and he stared down at her, a slight smile on his lips. "You don't agree?"

"Well, I guess I do, but I never thought that I'd hear it from you. I can't imagine "the great Hyuuga Neji" opening up to anyone."

He shrugged "Maybe I should take my own advice."

"Yeah….but you're right you know. I have been running away form the memories, of my parents, Sasuke, team 7. I guess I'm just scared, but than I've always been that way, always scared of being left behind, sacred that I wasn't good enough."

It was a moment before she recognized the salty liquid running down her face as tears and she hid her face in shame at the realization.

"I'm sorry," She choked out, "I promised I wouldn't cry after Sasuke left."

Neji was silent for a long time as he let her cry. The only indication of his presence was the comforting hand on her back, rubbing calming circles.

"It's okay; I feel the same way, sometimes. We all do, some people are just better at hiding it."

She sniffed softly, "I think I want to remember the good times with team 7, but I also want to face the bad ones because those helped mold me into the person I am today, right?"

"Yah."

Sakura smiled up at Neji and he smiled in return, a gesture she would not expect from the stoic Hyuuga.

"So, did your teammates snore?"

"Well Naruto did the most and Sasuke kind of rumbled while he was sleeping. The rumbling was actually more annoying than Naruto's snoring, now that I think of it."

"He rumbled?"

"Yah, heh, I don't know what else to call it, it wasn't deep enough to be a purr but it was too consistent to be a snore."

He just half-smiled at her description and dug in his pockets for a moment. She was ecstatic when he produced a set of effective-looking earplugs.

"Earplugs! So that's how you tone out the snoring!"

She clapped at the discovery, almost burning her foot on the fire.

"Yeah, Tenten uses them too. You can borrow mine tonight, since I'm on watch."

"Well thanks, but you know you could have just given them to me straight out if you had them all along. You don't have earwax do you?"

He looked at her strangely. "What kind of Jounin are you?"

She winked back at him, happy despite her earlier outburst, "Definitely the best kind!"

When she finally crawled back inside her sleeping bag she was content and the snoring that had previously prevented sleep was pleasantly dulled.

That night Sakura fell asleep to dreams of team 7 and her parents. Some of them were good and some made her clench her fists and grind her teeth, but ultimately they were dreams that, in the morning, she did not regret.

Chapter 2- End

Thanks for taking the time to read the second chapter of Sightings! The plot of this story is still under revision but I'm enjoying writing it, so updates will likely be one week at the most. I am also considering the pairing for this story. Originally it was supposed to be just kaka/saku but then I decided I would put in a bit of sasu/saku too. Now I kind of want to put in neji/saku as well. I guess I'll leave the final pairing as a surprise but there will definitely be more kakashi, because I love him! (Don't we all?)

Au revoir,

-Onyx angel

Also- Sasuke should be appearing soon if I can fit him in! (May not seem like much but is very exciting for the authoress!) Yes, yes I need to get a life….


	3. Warm Welcome

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from said story.

Sightings Chapter 2- Warm Welcome

By Onyx angel

* * *

When Sakura awoke the next morning it was to the pleasant noise of Lee's overeager voice, Gai's boisterous pitch and only one earplug in place. She promptly rolled over, away from the pair, and pretended she was still asleep. 

"Gai-sensei, when should we leave for Iwagakure?"

"Soon Lee, soon, but first we must wake our sleeping comrade and prepare to depart!"

"Yes! But to rudely wake Sakura-san would initiate a bad impression of us, Gai-sensei, and Sakura-san is new to our team."

"That is true, good thinking Lee. The way to any youthful women's heart is through the subtle methods of persuasion! You have learned well!"

"Oh Gai-sensei!"

'_Shut up, shut up, shut up!'_

Sakura, not in the mood to be wooed so early in the morning, stuffed her face harder into her abused pillow.

"Get up," Neji nudged her slightly with his foot and continued to wrap bandage around his right arm.

"I'm up!" Sakura sat up quickly and said a hasty good morning to her companions.

"Ahh, Sakura-san good morning, we were just about to wake you. It is about an hour past dawn so we should probably leave for Iwa soon."

"Sure, thanks Lee."

Sakura yawned and proceeded to mirror the actions of her comrades, packing her things. It was early and she was tired, but pleased that they would reach Iwa by mid afternoon and, possibly, that they would be able to begin the actual mission.

Sakura shouldered her laden bag and looked to her fellow ninja.

"When do you think we'll be able to eat?"

"When we reach Iwa it is assumed that we will immediately meet with the Tsuchikage. After, we should be given some time to eat and discuss our next move."

Sakura nodded to Neji. "Sounds good."

"Ok, move out!"

It took them most of the day to reach Iwa, even traveling the most direct route. By the time they reached the Iwa gates Sakura was not the only one panting.

Although she did grudgingly notice her pants seemed slightly louder than the rest.

"Are you the ninja from Konoha?"

Sakura turned to where the condescending tone of a man had come from. He was as tall as Gai and based on the fact that he had to perform menial tasks like welcoming foreign ninja she would say he was at chuunin status.

"You don't look like much but I guess we'll see. Come with me."

Sakura bristled at the man's attitude, but followed him when he walked away without a single glance to see if they were following.

The walk to the Tsuchikage's office was short and Sakura was eager to see what type of man the Tsuchikage was.

In her studies she had read that Iwa attempted to produce hardy ninja and that their training methods were, on a scale of ruthlessness, on par or above that of Suna's. However, for whatever reason, they had never been able to turn out many ninja of very fine caliber and the strength of Iwa paled in comparison to many other ninja villages.

Nevertheless, Sakura had learned in the past that sheer ruthlessness could often win out against superior strength, earned by more wholesome methods. She did not believe in the idea of winning through underhanded means herself, but she had witnessed unfair means performed successfully in the past.

Before long their guide was knocking on the door of the Tsuchikage's office.

"Manabu-sama, I have the ninja from Konoha with me. Can we come in?" The chuunin knocked on the door again, before rubbing his head in an agitated manner.

"Not again. That stupid bitch."

Sakura had no inclination to find out what or who the he was talking about but she became worried when a loud thump was heard behind the door.

Rock Lee had, apparently, heard the noise too and spoke up. "Excuse me…….. Ah I apologize, what did you say your name was?"

The chuunin stared at Rock Lee in the same condescending manner with which he had addressed them at the gates.

"I didn't give it bowl-cut. You can call me Amachi though."

Rock Lee looked almost as displeased as Gai when he answered the man.

"Right. Amachi-san, are you sure everything is alright in there. I would not want needless harm to come to anyone when I, the most proud green beast of Konoha, could prevent it!"

"So you are as weird as you look. Anyway, what's happening in there does not concern you. You'd be best to leave it alone."

He immediately turned back to the door, eluding further questioning. He knocked once more on the door and scowled when the only answer he received was another bang followed, this time, by a whine.

Sakura nudged Neji subtly with her foot.

"Hey Neji-san, do you think you could use your Byakugan to see what's happening in there," She said gesturing slightly to the door.

His only response was the puffy veins angling from his eyes and the narrowing of said eyes.

"So what's happening?" Sakura questioned, curious despite herself.

Neji frowned back at her. "There is a man and a young girl, probably 10 or 11. The man is probably the Tsuchikage and I don't know who the girl is. They both have chakras of a similar signature so it is possible they are related. He's hurting her somehow but I can't tell exactly."

"I didn't know the Tsuchikage had a daughter."

"Nor did I, if that is in fact who she is. It was not stated in the records."

A muffled plea was heard behind the door and Sakura looked quickly to Neji and then to Amachi.

"Amachi-san a little girl is being hurt in there, why?"

Amachi looked at Sakura sharply. "Do not interfere girl. It is Iwa business."

Another pained moan and Sakura now recognized it as the voice of a young girl. The concerned medic in her took over as she punched through the door of the Tsuchikage's office.

She was surprised when she entered, followed by a protesting Amachi, to see a man holding a kunai-like object to the bloody forehead of a crying girl.

The man quickly pocketed the weapon and looked to his uninvited guests. His eyes narrowed as he stood and took a seat at the desk positioned in the middle of the room.

"Amachi are you incapable of keeping our Konoha ninja busy while I finish with some business."

Sakura stared aghast at the man who had left the poor girl on the ground in the corner. The girl had immediately curled into a ball and faced the wall.

She could barely hold herself back form telling the man heatedly why you should not beat children who were, obviously, unable to defend themselves. She did so, barely, only because she knew this man was the Tsuchikage. However, she could not hold back the urge to attend to the crying girl.

The Tsuchikage noticed and looked at her, annoyed.

"Leave her Konoha ninja, she'll be fine."

'_Bastard.'_

Sakura clenched her fists but retreated from the injured girl. The wound on her forehead was not fatal and Tsunade could not afford to have her apprentice messing up alliance building missions.

Neji as mission leader, and because it was likely the Tsuchikage would have no patience for the odd mannerisms of Gai or Lee choose to speak for the group.

"I apologize Manabu-sama; we did not mean to intrude. We simply heard pained noises and were concerned. Our kunoichi is a medic-nin and thought she could assist anyone in need of medical attention."

"Well there is no need for anyone to receive medical attention. Next time perhaps you could wait for me to let you in. I do not enjoy fixing that door.

Neji bowed his head respectfully but Sakura, from where she was standing, could see the slight frown of annoyance on his face as he did so. "Of course, Manabu-sama."

Manabu looked at them, seemingly annoyed by their presence, which he had requested.

"I suppose you would like to rest and eat."

"We would."

"Fine. You may do so and come to see me early tomorrow morning."

"Manabu-sama, it would be ideal for us to discuss The Akatsuki sightings in the region now so that, as soon as possible, we can begin searching them out."

"I am certain that the Akatsuki members our ninja have sighted will return."

Sakura was growing increasingly annoyed with the conversation and this man.

"How can you be sure of that? Do you know of a motive they may have for being near here?" She asked, implying that Iwa was sheltering a Jinchūriki.

Manabu looked at her coldly and Sakura had to fight to keep her gaze blank.

"The Akatsuki do have a motive for being near Iwa, kunoichi. That being said their motive concerns Iwa business that you need know very little of to investigate the Akatsuki. What you do need to know I will tell you tomorrow. Now go, you are dismissed. Amachi?"

"Yes, Manabu-sama?"

"Show our guests an inn where they can stay."

"Of course." Amachi bowed slightly to the Tsuchikage and left, but not, Sakura noticed, before casting a worried glance to the girl in the corner.

Sakura and her teammates followed him out and all were stiff with the tension of the rocky meeting.

Sakura spent a lot of time around the Hokage of Konoha and witnessed how Tsunade was treated by the people she governed. She was appreciated and respected by most, excluding Naruto.

From what Sakura had observed from Amachi's treatment of the Tsuchikage, Manabu was neither appreciated nor respected; more like feared and tolerated.

Even Rock Lee and Gai were silent as they followed the equally soundless Amachi. It did not take a genius to figure out that the meeting with the Tsuchikage had been a failure, which could jeopardize the success of the mission.

Amachi led them to a large inn a short distance away from the Tsuchikage's office.

"You can sleep here for the duration of your stay, and, if I were you, I would treat the Tsuchikage with more respect. This is not Konoha or Fire country; we abide by stricter rules."

With that said Amachi turned and walked away, glaring at Sakura in passing.

"Learn your place kunoichi!" He hissed at her under the hearing of her teammates.

Sakura's jaw dropped at his offensiveness and she immediately became angry.

"You bastard! I'll - hey Neji-san, let go. I won't hurt him too bad!"

"Stop it; we've already messed up enough tonight. Beating up an Iwa ninja won't help."

Sakura pouted but allowed herself to be restrained by the Hyuuga. She hadn't really intended to hurt the chuunin, just scare him a little.

Sakura looked around at their surroundings. The inn they had been led to was quaint and quiet from the outside but sounds that clearly gave off the presence of a bar in the inn were evident.

They entered and ordered three rooms at the front desk; one for Sakura and two others to be split up between the boys.

"I'm sorry; it seems we have only two rooms available, I hope that will suffice."

At that statement Sakura felt her hopes and dreams of a single room crash down around her. She sighed grimly as Gai accepted and paid for the rooms and felt extreme melodramatic anguish for the fact that even now, when she was on a team that mostly respected her privacy as a women, the fates were against her.

The rooms, when they reached them, were identical and small but comfortable with one bed each and a couch.

"Sakura-san, if you will allow it I would like to room with you! I will of course take the couch!"

Thinking of the snoring that had accompanied her the previous night Sakura digressed Lee's idea. Earplugs could only do so much in close quarters.

"Sorry Lee, but you snore when you sleep!"

"Alright! In accordance with our joyous snoring, my cutest student and I shall room together!" Gai announced with fervor.

"Thanks Gai-sensei. Wait, doesn't that leave me with-"

'_Make the best of it Sakura, make the best of it.'_

Rooming with Neji was a better (or quieter) alternative to doing so with Lee or Gai but had the potential to be considerably more awkward.

Thinking of the snoring was the decision clincher and Sakura threw caution to the wind.

"C'mon Neji-san, lets go set up our room. You can have the couch."

Later, after some arguing about sleeping arrangements which led to no real solutions, Sakura was struck with the urge to explore the inn in an attempt to alleviate the trials of the day.

The bar, she noticed, sounded promising as well.

When she knocked on the door of Lee and Gai she learned from a note that they had already gone to explore the inn and, possibly, the bar.

This gave Sakura further resolve to go to the bar since Lee needed someone to make sure he didn't drink alcohol and she doubted Gai would be much help.

She shrugged and peeked into her own room.

"Neji-san, I'm going to meet Lee and Gai. They're probably in the bar, wanna come?

Neji looked to their room and back, contemplating the pros and cons of attending a bar on a mission before following her when she began heading to the bar.

"I'll come. Someone has to restrain Lee."

"Don't tell me you doubt my strength." Sakura grinned and held up a small but toned bicep.

Neji smirked back at her. "Would you try to punch me if I said I didn't?"

"Depends."

Neji shrugged and started heading inside the bar "You couldn't hurt me anyway."

"Hey! Neji-_san_," Sakura whined, following him.

She could have been offended by his comment had she not been used to his arrogance from former missions and other less frequent encounters.

"Fine, since fighting on a mission is out of the question how 'bout we settle who's stronger a different way."

Neji raised an eyebrow, smirk still in place. "What do you propose?"

Sakura looked at Neji and let a slow grin form on her face.

"Drinking!"

She was no where near as bad as her sensei, Tsunade, when it came to alcohol but she did indulge on occasion and the Hokage wasn't the only one who sought her out for her hangover remedies.

Neji frowned at her. "Drinking?"

"Yup."

"We're on a mission."

"I know."

Not to back down from a challenge the smirk that had disappeared at the mention of alcohol reformed. "Fine, but this doesn't get mentioned on mission report."

Sakura nodded vehemently, imagining the look on her sensei's face if she found out that Sakura had destroyed a forest for no reason and taken the time to get drunk on a mission.

Sakura stopped bobbing her head when she noticed the weird look Neji was giving her.

"Not that look again! I'm not that odd, I mean look at Naruto. Tsunade-sama's scarey though."

"Tsunade-sama's what? Never mind, at least with Naruto, once you get used to him you can usually tell what he's thinking. You're just weird."

Sakura smiled at the thought of her blonde roommate, carefully ignoring the latter of Neji's comments, as the two went to join Lee and Gai at the bar.

"Yah, always thinking something dumb and brave, that's Naruto."

Sakura sat down at the bar, greeting Gai and Lee who had yet to order a drink, and carefully slipped a bill to the bartender, subtly asking him not to give drinks to Lee - the results would definitely be more expensive than the man and his bar could afford.

Sakura turned to Neji and smiled triumphantly. "Ok! Let's drink!"

"If this is how you're acting now I don't think I want to see you drunk."

"Hey, I bet I can hold my liquor longer than you!"

Sakura ordered sake for herself and Neji from the bartender and when Neji was handed the drinks she casually put her hands where they couldn't be seen, under the table, and performed a set of simple seals.

She concentrated her chakra and murmured quietly. "Dame no Jutsu!"

Smiling with evil intent the kunoichi reflected on her genius plan.

"_Okay phase 1: perform anti-intoxicated jutsu complete. Now on to phase 2 where Neji gets drunk and I stay as sober as I began."_

"Are you sure you're not already drunk, Haruno?"

Sakura turned to the Hyuuga and cocked her head. "No, why?"

"You're chuckling for no reason. Get a grip."

Sakura glared and turned to her drink. "I'm fine."

"Like I said, you're weird," Neji replied, taking a long drink of his sake.

Neji finished and ordered more sake, although Sakura noticed the only thing that had changed about his demeanor was his smirk and slight glare in her direction, which had intensified.

She was about to respond with a swig of her own when Rock Lee, who had been taking lessons from Gai on proper etiquette around women, interrupted.

Sakura-san are you going to be alright if you drink a lot of sake? We are on a mission.

The kunoichi in question smiled at Lee's concern. "Yah Lee, I'll be fine."

"Alright! If you insist on partaking in such I too shall take part Sakura-san!

Gai nodded sadly at his students sacrifice. "Allow me to join you in your youthful experimentation, my students! I shall become mentor to your young admiration of sake."

"Um, wait that's not really necessary Lee-kun, Gai-sensei, I'm sure I'll be fine. I am a medic-nin, I can deal with a little sake."

Neji, who had been watching the exchange with mild alarm, chose to speak. "Lee, you can't get drunk. Do you remember last time?"

Lee looked down for a moment, before looking back up with fire in his eyes. "Indeed. I apologize Sakura-san but I am unable to join you! However, as compensation I shall perform with brilliance to match that of Neji, tomorrow!"

"Uh, sure, sounds good Lee-kun."

Lee winked at her and gave her a thumbs up before leaving the bar, apparently to go rest up so he could perform to the best of his abilities the next day.

Sakura puzzled for a moment over the hardworking anomaly that was Lee before shrugging and taking her interrupted swig of sake.

Neji retaliated with his own drink and their competition became a staring contest as well. After more than numerous drinks on both sides even Sakura with her anti-intoxication jutsu was feeling slightly woozy.

The jutsu was originally intended for dispelling poison but had proven mostly useless, an additional quirk on the name. She'd found it on one of her many scours of medical records and discovered that it was quite useful for lowering the effects of alcohol. She had recommended it to Tsunade who declined, saying that using the jutsu would defeat the purpose of drinking in the first place, before discovering how useful it could be in drinking contests.

Neji took another hesitant drink and leaned slightly to the left. Apparently, even ninja of ANBU caliber could be beaten by a simple liquid.

"Done yet?"

Sakura, who remained mostly sober, grinned menacingly before replying. "Why Neji-san I've barely begun.

Sakura shifted in her chair, deviously thinking about revealing questions the Hyuuga would answer willingly while drunk.

"So Neji-san, uh, what's your type of girl?"

Neji narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the girl. "You don't seem very drunk, Haruno."

Sakura smirked. "Well that's because I am excellent at holding my liquor. Sorry Neji-san."

Sakura in no way looked sorry and she most definitely wasn't.

Playing with a drunk Neji reminded her kind of eerily of days back with team 7 when they would try to take Kakashi's mask off.

Of course now she was the one instigating the fun, not Naruto and she was not inclined to agree with a nonexistent Sasuke when he argued against any unprofessional form of play.

"You'd be cute Haruno, if you weren't so weird."

Brought back to reality, Sakura blushed crimson and glowered at the smirking Hyuuga. Of course the smirk was lopsided and his eyes were alight with the effects of alcohol, but that was not a comment often heard from a sober and bigheaded Neji and Sakura figured that she at least, could have the decency to blush for both of them.

"Embarrassed?"

"You should be too. Don't say things like that, it's wrong."

"Don't have a very high opinion of yourself, do you?"

"Never mind c'mon lets go sleep. I won the drinking contest by the way."

Neji chose not to reply and gave Sakura a grim reception when she attempted to help him to their room. She immediately shrugged indifferently and walked away, while Neji followed in a slightly less coordinated fashion.

When they reached their room they were faced with an even more troubling decision which Sakura eagerly decided to solve.

"So, Neji-san, floor or chair?"

* * *

Chapter 3- End 

Chapter 3! I apologize for the very late update but I went away on vacation (I'm still on vacation but I found a computer). The anti-drunk jutsu Sakura used is just translated to useless jutsu. Thanks for reading and for those of you who commented!

-Onyx angel


End file.
